


Focus On My Veins

by PsychedelicDreamboat



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Mostly set in Octane's POV, slowish burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-01-15 11:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18498121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychedelicDreamboat/pseuds/PsychedelicDreamboat
Summary: Octavio 'Octane' Silva has always had one manta in his life: To always find a good rush or thrill, no matter the cost! When he meets Mirage, the man seems to send Octavio a different kind of rush he's never really experienced before. The adrenaline junkie intends to find out and a put a name to that feeling if it's the last thing he does!





	1. First Contact

A travel-licensed spaceship was en route to Nexus, one of the many planets dubbed the ‘Outlands’. Inside, the cabin was quite cramped, carrying cargo in the back with a two-seater in front. An old-fashioned hula dancer figurine swung back and forth from its position attached to the rearview board. House dance music was turned down low till it was barely audible in the cabin. What cracked the mostly-silent driver and passenger area was the incessant tapping of one Octavio Silva, from his one hand to one of his bionic legs.

The pilot looked over at the man, grimacing slightly. “Hey, man, could you stop that?”

Octavio snapped his head to look at the pilot. “What?”

“You know…the tapping?” The pilot said, his tone edging on exasperated.

“Sorry, amigo, I’m just feeling a bit antsy,” Octavio said.

“I feel ya, everyone’s usually nervous when they get inducted as a legend in the Apex Games,” The pilot said, nodding.  
“Are you kidding?! I’m not nervous, I’m excited!” Octavio said, slapping both hands on the armrests of his seat.  
The pilot sat back, his eyes widening. His expression quickly turned neutral as he concentrated on their surroundings. “…I see.”

The rest of the ride was blissfully silent, save for the comeback of the irritating tapping from Octavio. The pilot decided to slip on some noise-cancelling headphones afterwards.

It didn’t take long for Octavio to get settled in. He had his own space within the Apex Games’ housing facilities. He was situated in a dorm-like building that was called ‘The Dome’. There was some mandatory training he’d have to undergo but it was better than staying cooped up in his room waiting to be called for his first run within the Games.

There was about a week where he was in stasis, jiggling his legs on his bed, waiting for his issued comms to ring to let him know he was ready to go. He wasn’t someone that was great at keeping secrets but he there was a childish giddiness of finding out his old childhood friend, Ajay Che, was also a part of this intergalactic blood sport. Through asking around, he found out she was situated in a building called ‘The Fixture’.

Well, good. It’d make it all the more easier for him to surprise her when his opening day came up.

In the meantime, he was going to keep himself occupied by working out at the training range and at the gym available in the Dome.

~

Octavio nearly conked his head from how high he jumped when he finally got the news from his comms of when he’d be available for his first battle. He did jumping jacks in place before running around his room in joy.

“Yes, _finally!_ ” He whooped aloud.

When the day came, it was just about as exciting Octavio had dreamt it’d be. He made his codename Octane, as it seemed to fit his quite explosive personality. He had his gear all readied up: supply vest packed full of stim packs and upper arm strapped with healing agents he’d stolen from one of many of his parents’ storage facilities. A strapped sort of fanny pack that crossed over his thighs with a tank full of filtration serum to counter the stim packs he'd take while on the battlefield, and a side pocket filled with extra stim packs. His headgear was a mishmash of a pilot’s hat he’d snagged from a thrift store, vision-enhancing goggles, and a gas mask that helps with giving him enough oxygen he needed on his thrill runs and jumps. Also, a pair of dark fingerless gloves, just ‘cause.

A woman who went by the name Cassandra Wallows stood by him as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. She wore her hair in a tight bun donned a crisp dress shirt with a matching jacket and pencil skirt. She had a holo-board in one hand and a pen in the other. She was directing him to the designated dropship that would take him to his first battle. She was giving him tips as they made way to the lineup.

  
Octavio squinted his eyes behind his goggles. He enhanced his sight to see a familiar face in the crowd of people up ahead. He dashed ahead.

“Mr. Silva! Just where do you think you're going?!” Cassandra yelled.

“I’ll be right back, Ms. Wallows!” Octavio called back.

Octavio navigated through the lines like a snake. He brought up his hands in a sneaking gesture as he got closer to Ajay. He clapped one his hands on her shoulder before pulling the woman back in a tight one-armed hug.

“Ajay! It’s been so long, how are you, amiga?” Octavio said.

“Octavio?!” Ajay nearly squawked, swerving her head around to meet the man’s face with alarm.

“That’s me!” Octavio replied.

“And just what are you doing ‘ere?” Ajay asked, wriggling herself out of Octavio’s tight grasp.

“Why so surprised? I’m going to be a contender in the Apex Games, a Legend, as they advertise on the holoscreens,” Octavio said.

“Anyways, see you around, amiga, I better get going before my agent goes totally loco!” Octavio said.

“You have a lot of explainin’ to do, Silva!” Ajay said as Octavio all but ran back.

“Where were we, Ms. Wallows?” Octavio said innocently as he sidled up next to the agent nonchalantly.

Cassandra frowned, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Anyway, as I was saying-“

Cassandra continued the basic rundown of the rules and policies of the Apex Games. Octavio had attended a one-on-one conference that explained the rules but there were some bits of info Cassandra noted that they had only skimmed during the meeting.

“You’ll be teamed up with Gibraltar and Bloodhound for your first battle,” Cassandra said. She briefly described their usual geared appearances and Octavio eventually found them in the crowd.

“Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Wallows, thanks for the help,” Octavio said. His goggle changed shape to make it look he had winked at her.

“…You’re welcome,” Cassandra replied, pushing her glasses up again to hide the blush spreading on her cheeks.

Octavio waved as he ran to meet his new groupmates.

“So, this is the newcomer that’s on our team today?” The man named Gibraltar said. “Welcome, friend!”

“Let us have a good match together, yes?” The enigma known as Bloodhound said.  
They greeted Octavio with a firm handshake which the man returned enthusiastically. “Of course!”

After further greetings, they lined up towards the dropship and the three of them greeted others that were waiting for the dropship, as well.

A man wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit sidled up next to Octavio, holding the rim of his googles with his pointer finger and thumb. “Are you the newbie everyone’s been talking about?”

“That’s me!” Octavio replied.

The man held out a gloved hand. “The name’s Mirage. You?”

 _“Ah, we’re using our codenames, huh?”_ Octavio thought.

Octavio returned the gesture, squeezing tightly. “Octane.” “Mirage…so what’s the backstory for that name?” Octane.

Mirage threw a wink as he brought down his goggles to his face. “You’ll just to find out when we hit the battlefield.”

“That’s fine, I can appreciate surprises,” Octavio said with a laugh.

The dropship made a heavy landing and a pilot’s voice called out for the Legends to enter in their respective lines. "See you in Kings Canyon,” Mirage said. “We’ll see about that,” Octavio said. “Let’s hope you can catch up and not have to eat my dust.”

Mirage smirked before letting out a huff of a laugh. The man patted him on the shoulder before making his way on the dropship.

Octavio wasn’t sure exactly what he was feeling at the moment. It felt like an adrenaline rush was already pumping through his veins but there was an undercurrent of something else he couldn’t quite place. His shoulder felt like it was burning. The lingering warmth of Mirage’s hand was burned into the back of his mind as he jumped, fought, and fell right into his first match within the Apex Games.


	2. Eat My Dust

“So, when are we set to jump?” Octavio asked.

Makoa let out a boisterous laugh.

“When you see the outlines of Kings Canyon, that’s usually about the time we are set to jump,” Bloodhound said.

“That, and also when the announcer tells us we’re ready to go,” Makoa said.

“So, where are we going to jump, exactly?” Octavio asked.

“I suggest we go to the Wetlands, there is lots of good loot in that location,” Bloodhound said.

“I think that’s a good place to start,” Makoa replied.

“Lead the way, then,” Octavio said.

The pilot gave the okay for the Legends to jump out and ribbons of colored jetpack fuel trails cascaded through the air.

Gibraltar guided the way and they all landed in the Wetlands area in no time. There were some worn huts and cabins. The two veterans guided Octane towards these buildings. Gibraltar handed Octane a Hemlock gun while Bloodhound gave the junkie several rounds of heavy ammo.

“I suggest you take one of these backpacks, it’ll help you keep your gear and weapons organized and easy to take out,” Gibraltar said.

“Take some armor too, it helps in taking damage from the guns and make you last longer during battle,” Bloodhound said.

Octane was unsure on how to react at the immediate kindness of the duo.

“Thanks, guys…” Octane said.

“Teamwork makes the dream work, is what I hear a lot of young people say,” Gibraltar said with a heavy laugh.

Bloodhound simply nodded as they tightened the straps on their forest green backpack.

“Are we all geared up?” Gibraltar asked.

Everyone quickly did a close check on their things and nodded.

“I think we’re ready to go,” Bloodhound said.

They carefully opened the door to the cabin they were in and dropped to the ground.

“Wait a moment,” Bloodhound said after a moment.

“We’ve barely left the area…” Octane started.

“Someone’s been around this cabin recently,” Bloodhound said.

“How do you know that?” Octane asked.

Bloodhound simply pointed to their helmet’s goggles.

“Over here,” Gibraltar called.

The other two raced to follow him behind the face of a large rock.

“I have a hunch someone or a whole squad might come through here,” Bloodhound said. “Let’s prepare an ambush.”

“When can we start shooting our guns already?” Octane whined.

“Patience, my friend,” Bloodhound said, holding an arm in front of the young man.

Octane sulked behind his mask but did as he was told. He flipped the large gun in his hands in a fast yet bored manner. He just wanted the action to start, already.

“On my signal,” Bloodhound said. There was a brief pause. “…Now.”

The three rushed behind their cover and began shooting. The squad that was creeping among the bushes looked surprised. It wasn’t long till the squad was defeated, their death boxes scattered on the muddy grass.

 Gibraltar gave pointers on which was the best loot from people’s death boxes.

They wandered around a bit before engaging in fights with other squads they met. Octane could vaguely recognize some of the people they encountered. Nothing really stroke his fancy until they came upon bounce lines that littered a circle of cabins.

“Now we’re talking,” Octane said. “What do these things do?”

“They’re bounce lines, they propel you into the air and let you look around in bird’s eye view of everything,” Bloodhound said. “Be careful though, you are extremely vulnerable if anyone spots you on these lines.”

“Sweet!” Octane whooped.

Without hesitation, the man climbed on and latched one of his hands on the moving lines. The machine moved at a slow rate, but the view was incredible. Bloodhound was right; as Octane went higher and higher, he could even see other areas that led to places outside of the Wetlands.

“This is _amazing!”_ Octane yelled.

“I suggest you keep your voice down, we don’t know who might be here,” Gibraltar called, his thunderous voice booming upwards.

“C’mon up here, guys, the view’s great!” Octane said.

He easily pulled out a deflated jump pad from one of his satchels by his belt and quickly pumped air into it. After closing the air hole, Octane threw the device over his shoulder.

He couldn’t hear the other two but if he eyeballed his trajectory, the other two would be soaring in the air momentarily.

Two yells, one panicked and one laughing, began growing closer and closer. The duo held onto the bounce line as it came into their view and joined Octane in a line.

“That was dangerous!” Bloodhound yelped. Octane found the hunter’s panicked voice to be entertaining to hear.

“Dangerously fun!” Octane corrected.

“We have to do that again,” Gibraltar agreed.

“Gibraltar, do not enable the man,” Bloodhound warned.

Gibraltar simply let out another boisterous laugh.

As the two began to argue, Octane spotted a familiar figure in the distance. It wasn’t hard to spot the figure when their bright yellow person was so easy to pick out, even a half-blind eagle could see the fool.

“Gotcha,” Octane said with a smile.

“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” Octane said.

“Wait, it’s dangerous to go by yourself!” Bloodhound yelled.

Octane didn’t listen and jumped off the bounce line with a resounding yell.

Bloodhound desperately tried to scurry down the line, but Gibraltar was in the way. “We have to catch up to him, who knows what kind of trouble he’ll get himself in.”

“Right behind you,” Gibraltar said.

“You are actually blocking me right now,” Bloodhound deadpanned.

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Gibraltar said with a laugh.

He began to slide down, Bloodhound following closely behind.

~        

The thrill of being in the heat of battle never got old for Elliott. Excitement and thrills were just two of many things that the trickster signed up for when he became a Legend.

Elliott was in a squad with Bangalore and Lifeline.

“Let’s go to the Relay,” Bangalore said.

“I got no problem with that,” Mirage said. “Lifeline?”

“Yeah, fine by me,” Lifeline agreed.

“Try not to distance yourself from the group too much,” Bangalore said. “There’s good loot here, but let’s not get greedy.”

“You got it, serge,” Mirage said, mock-saluting with two fingers.

Bangalore rolled her eyes but began to move across the terrain.

Mirage went a ways from Bangalore and Lifeline and began recharging his shields from behind a large rock.

 ~

Octane was running, his arms comically pumping in the air.

“Yoohoo, Mirage, amigo!” Octane called, waving his arm.

Mirage stopped in his tracks, looking behind him. “Wait, where did you come from?!”

“Oh, you know, above,” Octane said.

“That makes no sense!” Mirage yelled, bursting off in a sprint.

“Is this a chase, ‘cause you’re on!” Octane said.

Mirage looked back briefly, firing off some shots. A few hit while a majority were dodged by the junkie. The man simply took out a vial filled with green liquid and directly injected it into his wrist. This made Octane’s speed even more faster, he was just short of being able to grab onto Mirage’s belts and yank him backwards.

Mirage let out a high-pitched yelp as Octane began firing off some shots. His sloppy running caused his bullets to hit off their mark but a few clipped his shoulder and one landed on his side.

They rounded a corner and the chase continued. At one point, Mirage deployed his duplicates and Octane had followed one of them before firing some rounds on the duplicate. The image began glitching before dissolving into the air.

Octane quickly hit himself more with another vial and shooting at all of the clones before hitting the real Mirage, who gave off a surprised yell when the bullet lodged into his suit.

They’d pass off some shots at each other before Octane fired a lucky round of bullets on Mirage’s back. The man tripped over a rock on the ground and he swore as he tumbled to the side.

“You may be fast, amigo, but I’m faster,” Octane purred.

“You got me,” Mirage said, his voice hoarse and out-of-breath. “Whatcha gonna do about it?”

“Guess I gotta finish you off, no hard feelings, right?” Octane said.

Mirage rolled his eyes.

Before the trickster could answer, Octane bashed the head of his gun over Mirage’s forehead and fired off the rest of his bullets into the man’s chest. Mirage’s visage faded as his death box appeared where his body was only seconds before.

Octane opened the death box and began to look greedily for whatever the man had on his person before a bullet shot past his ear.

 _“Agh, that must be his crew,”_ Octane thought.

He loaded the things he’d gathered into his arms and ran off.

“Octane! You get your ass back here!” Ajay yelled as he disappeared around a mountain corner.

“Catch me if you can!” He cackled.

She and Bangalore heard his retreating laughter echo in the air.

~

“Where on Nexus have you been?” Bloodhound asked, exasperated, when Octane randomly appeared before them.

“I got you guys some stuff,” Octane simply replied.

“Oh, now this is some _nice_ stuff,” Gibraltar said as he peered into Octane’s arms.

“Take your pick,” Octane said.

Bloodhound glanced over at the junkie before rifling through the pile he’d obtained.

~

Bangalore had grabbed his badge and Mirage came back down from a dropship in no time.

His shoulders drooped as he met with the judging stares of Bangalore and Lifeline.

“I had some killer loot before I got squashed by that Octane guy,” Mirage moaned.

“This is what you get for getting extra cocky today,” Lifeline scolded.

“How many times have I told you not to keep close when you’re applying shields on yourself?” Bangalore said.

The woman then sighed and took out some supplies from her backpack before throwing them at Mirage’s feet. “Here, you’re lucky I had some extra things on me today.”

“Bangalore, what would I do without you...?” Mirage cooed.

He tried to swoop in for a hug that Bangalore swiftly dodged.

“Probably would be offed already in the match by now,” She said coolly.

Mirage stuck his tongue out before stuffing Bangalore’s extra supplies into a sack Lifeline handed him.

He should be mad that a rookie ended him just like that, but honestly, he was secretly impressed. The trickster rubbed his nose with the back of his gloved hand. The two before him already weren’t paying attention to him anymore, touching base on strats, but Mirage couldn’t help but hide his growing grin all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like my writing for Lifeline and Bangalore were pretty solid. I'm a bit unsure on my characterizations for Gibraltar and Bloodhound, but hopefully they are accurate to how they are in-game. I know Bloodhound is supposed to be more of a stoic, calm character but I feel like even someone like them can get antsy or nervous at times. I wanted to show a side of them caring for Octane, even though they haven't known him for long. Hopefully that doesn't feel too OOC. I hope you guys enjoyed this second chapter, let me know what you think! The next one will focus a little more on Octavio's past. See you soon!! O v O /

**Author's Note:**

> I'm surprised there is only one other work at the moment about this pairing. I feel like since both of them radiate such high dumbass energy they're just the perfect match together. I know Octane's portrayed as a super energetic dude but I feel when he's interacting with people in the Apex Games' downtime he talks like anyone else lmao. Hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you think!


End file.
